We Value Your Privacy

We and our partners use technology such as cookies on our site to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology across the web. You can change your mind and change your consent choices at anytime by returning to this site.

How to Make Footstools

Jophiel Aurora Updated April 17, 2017

After a tiresome day at work or a hectic day of running errands, you may want to take a load off and put your feet up on a plush footstool. Footstools can be made from wood and other materials. If you have some old coffee cans lying around, you can put those cans to use and make footstools. Because coffee cans are strong and sturdy, the footstool can hold the weight of your feet. The cans are covered with fabric and other materials, so no one will know that the footstool is made from coffee cans!

Loading ...

Make the frame of the footstool. Tape seven cans together using duct tape. Run the tape across the top and bottom of the cans in a criss-cross pattern. Wrap tape around the sides of the cans until all cans are secured firmly. Repeat the steps for the remaining seven cans.

Secure the two stacks of seven cans together. Place one stack of seven cans on top of the other and wrap duct tape around them until they are firmly secured.

Cut the top piece for the footstool. Cut 3 equal size circles from the cardboard that meet the edges of the top perimeter of the cans (circumference).

Secure the top and bottom piece to the cans. Tape your round cardboard pieces to the top and bottom of the cans.

Add the batting. Cut a rectangle piece of batting a little longer that the perimeter of the stack of cans. Wrap batting around the perimeter of the cans and use the hot glue gun to secure the batting to the cans. Use scissors to cut any excess batting.

Cut your fabric. Cut a piece of fabric that is long enough to come up and around the top and bottom of your footstool frame.

Secure the fabric to the footstool. Place your fabric on a clean floor or table and put the footstool on its side in the centre of the fabric. Pull the fabric around the cans until it fits snugly to the frame. Fold down the fabric at the bottom of the can and hot glue the folds onto the top of the cardboard until all the fabric is secured to the frame. Sit the footstool up and repeat this for the top of the can.

Make the pillow top. Get your third round piece of cardboard and cut a small rectangle door out of the centre big enough to insert your fist. Do not cut the cardboard door off. Leave it open to the bottom of the cardboard.

Cut a round piece of fabric a few inches larger than the circumference of the round piece of cardboard. (After hot gluing the fabric to the bottom edges of the cardboard, there must be room to stuff fibre fill inside of the fabric.)

Place the top side of the round cardboard piece in the centre of the fabric. Hot glue the round piece of fabric around the bottom edges of the cardboard. Let the glue dry.

Push fists full of fibre fill into the rectangle door opening. Duct tape the door down to the cardboard once you have stuffed enough batting into the fabric to make a firm round pillow top.

Finish the footstool. Place the pillow top piece on top of the coffee can frame and hot glue it on to the frame. Hot glue trim around the top and bottom of the footstool. You may also add tassels or other decorative pieces.

Loading ...

Things You'll Need

To make a footstool, you will need the following:

14 coffee cans

Duct tape

3 large pieces of cardboard

Batting

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Scissors

Fabric and trim

Fibre fill

References

About the Author

Since 2007, Jophiel Aurora has written articles on environmental issues, vegetarianism, travel and animal rights for Web sites like eHow, Answerbag and LIVESTRONG.COM. Aurora is also a writer for Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants, an online program. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration in computer information systems from Georgia State University.